Identical
by Maleficent332
Summary: On Hiatus until I finish my other fanfiction, 'Thawing My Frozen Heart'
1. 1

A pale silver she-kit sat silently in the corner of the clearing, her silhouette almost unseen against the shadows of the darkening day. She was still, her golden eyes wide and unblinking, as she stared ahead. She looked at the sky, instantly mesmerized by the beauty. The sky was alive with color tonight; a pale blue that darkened as it got higher, splashed with reds, yellows, and oranges. It was so beautiful, it was difficult to believe it was leaf-bare.

"Hi, Silverkit."

The voice jerked her out of her thoughts. She blinked at the cat who had spoken. The cat who had called her by, not her name, but her sisters. She glanced at his familiar golden pelt and amber eyes and recognized him as Sunkit. Cats mistook her and her sister all the time; as they bore an incredible resemblance, in speech, in their actions, in their personality, but most of all; their looks.

They had matching silver pelts with darker stripes. Not a single stripe was out of place. Her sister's stripes were in the exact same positions on her pelt as her own stripes were. The shade of the color was the exact same. They had the memorable smoky black stripe that ran from their nose to their tail tip; something barely any cats bore. Then there were their eyes; they were the exact same color, a pale golden color with darker flecks in them.

She twitched her ear as she locked gazes with her denmate. "I'm Goldenkit." She replied calmly, curling her tail over her paws and staring into his eyes. He frowned for a moment, and then a blush snaked onto his cheeks as he had gotten them mixed up. Again.

"I'm sorry!" He stammered, his tail flicking from side to side nervously as he waited her reply. He was afraid of her and her sister, as they had a reputation for being mean. And cold, and cruel.

"Relax." Was her short reply. "It's alright." She stared into his wide amber eyes, seeing how vulnerable he was

"Hey, Goldenkit." A pale she-cat purred, padding up to her sister, golden eyes shining. She sat down close to her sister, so their pelts brushed. Immediately the identical littermates twined tails and pressed against each other, as if they wanted to squish themselves together and become one. They were too alike, however, and although they loved their strong sibling bond, both sisters wished to be unique.

"Silverkit." She responded, nodding at her sister. They were so close together that she could feel her sister's heat flood into her, every muscle that twitched in her body, every breath she took. They were so close she could almost feel her sister's heartbeat as if it were her own. They liked being this close because then one sister would know what the other was to do without them having to announce it publicly. They liked to be discreet and independent, doing things by themselves.

"Why are you sitting so close?" Sunkit inquired.

It was a stupid question. Every cat in the clan knew how close the littermates were, and even their parents had difficulty telling them apart. Goldenkit sniffed in disapproval.

"Because we're scared to lose each other." Goldenkit drawled, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

Sunkit shifted his paws with a nervous glance at the sisters.

"We like to do things by ourselves." Goldenkit meowed, hinting that the annoying tom should leave. She wrapped her tail tightly around her paws, staring coolly at the kit. The naive thing didn't even realize that meant that he should leave. "_Without others around._"

He still didn't seem to get it.

Heaving an exasperated sigh, Silverkit rolled her eyes at Goldenkit. She then flitted her gaze from her sister and fixated it on the foolish golden kit sitting before them, still staring at them. "Well?" She meowed icily. "Scram."

He seemed to trip over his paws trying to dash away. He let out a squeak as he stumbled over himself and sprawled across the ground, before picking himself up and shooting one last nervous glance at the sisters and dashing back into the nursery.

"You think we scared him?" Goldenkit meowed, feeling slightly guilty for scaring the younger kit. Her golden eyes were wide as they focused on the entrance of the nursery, ready to see if Sunkit came back out to play or if he had decided to just stay in there.

Silverkit said nothing, but as Goldenkit stared at her older sister, she saw that a cold smirk was spread across her face. "We scared him all right." The older sister, Silverkit, purred, her voice sounding delighted in a cruel way. She touched her tail to her sisters, before drawing away and padding into the clearing.

Goldenkit was almost envious as even the apprentices stumbled over themselves to greet her. Of course they didn't know if it was her or Silverkit, but there was something about her sister… It was as if she had this one extra spark in her, something in her charming attitude, her charisma, that got her just a tiny bit more attention and admiration.

Silverkit was a bit prettier than her sister. Her golden eyes were a bit brighter, and her silver pelt seemed to be shinier than hers. Her lashes a bit longer, her body a bit more slender, her fur a bit neater. But the most distinctive difference between them was that the littermates decided that one of them should change their fur; and naturally Silverkit won, meaning Goldenkit had always kept a tuft of fur sticking up behind her right ear. But not many cats noticed that, as it was still hardly visible.

"Hey." A white furred tom approached her, his amber eyes glowing.

She twitched her ear in acknowledgment.

Amberpaw. He was one of the most liked cats in the clan; he was kind but also brave and determined. He was shaping up to be one of the best fighters they had, and he wasn't bad with hunting either. He was a senior apprentice, and Goldenkit figured that by the time she was a half-moon or even less into apprenticeship, the white furred tom would be a warrior. Or even earlier.

He flicked his tail. "Goldenkit?" He guessed, his face breaking out in a smile as he knew he was right.

"How could you tell?" She smiled, almost shyly, at him.

He flicked his tail behind him. "Silverkit's over there." His voice was light, teasing. Unlike most cats, he wasn't afraid of them. Well, not Goldenkit at least. The pale silver she-kit was known to be the nicer of the sisters, the more considerate and understanding of the two.

"Oh." Goldenkit meowed shortly. She was quiet for a moment; she thought he had noticed due to a difference he found between her and her sister. However nice it was to have someone that you were extremely close to, they were also so alike, that both of them wanted desperately to be different.

"So." Amberpaw meowed.

The golden-eyed kit blinked at him.

"You're apprentice ceremony is soon, aren't you excited?" He smiled lightly.

"I guess." Goldenkit shrugged loosely. Unlike most cats, her and her sister weren't all too excited about becoming apprentices. The highlight of their days was playing with other cats. Not playing like moss-ball, but teasing them, tricking them. Goldenkit sometimes felt guilty, but she knew her sister didn't know of the emotion _guilt_.

Amberpaw stared at her for a few more moments, before scooting a bit closer.

Goldenkit blinked reproachfully at the apprentice. "Can I help you?" She meowed coldly. She didn't like to be toyed with; and she had a feeling this was probably a bet between the apprentices to see which one could first get a sister to like them back. As in, more than friends. They did this multiple times, and if not for Silverkit, the golden-eyed kit knew that she would have fallen for it.

"I can't just sit here?" Amberpaw blinked, faking innocence.

Thankfully, Silverkit padded over at the exact moment. "Sure you can." She grinned. "But that doesn't mean Goldenkit has to sit there. Come, sister." She waved her tail, beckoning Goldenkit over.

The kit heard a hiss of annoyance from the white tom behind her, but she leapt to her paws and bounded over to her sister, grateful to have a reason to escape the amber-eyed tom's ridiculous attempts of trying to trick her.

"So, what are we doing?" Goldenkit asked.

"You'll see." Was her sister's reply.

~•~•~•~•~•~

Silverkit stared straight ahead. She would never tell her sister this; but she was mad that Amberpaw decided to go for her in the contest instead of Silverkit herself. Sure she was harder to get, but… The pale she-kit smirked slightly. Wasn't she the better option? It would be a better reward. She didn't really have anything planned for today, but she didn't want Amberpaw flirting with her sister any longer. She had to show her, and everyone else, that she was the better sister.

She was always jealous of her sister's kindness. Silverkit knew that she had the extra spark that made her a bit more special than her sister, that she was a bit more charismatic and charming, a bit better looking, but that didn't mean she was liked more than her sister. Sure, if you meet them both, you would first feel compelled to talk to Silverkit. But once you learn both their personalities, most cats would like Goldenkit more; as she was nicer. And Silverkit hated her sister for that.

"We're not doing anything, are we." Goldenkit muttered, her ears flicking. Her sister wasn't stupid.

Silverkit said nothing, scanning her gaze around camp. She smiled slightly as she saw the exit, and she padded forward slightly to the exit of the ThunderClan camp. She wrapped her tail around her sister, drawing her close, and began to lead her towards the outside world. The world outside of the camp.

"Are you serious?" Goldenkit hissed, without even looking at her Silverkit knew her sister was lashing her tail. "It's a day before our apprentice ceremony! This could delay it."

Silverkit's eyes flashed. "Who cares? You don't care about becoming an apprentice any more than I do." She scoffed, her voice dripping with scorn. She pressed forward, her eyes narrowed in determination.

"If we become apprentices, we can leave the camp, without sneaking out, and getting in trouble!" Goldenkit continued her side of the argument, and Silverkit could feel her sister's muscles tightening.

"If we sneak out and return with something good, sure we'll get in trouble but we'll also impress Thornstar." Silverkit countered, her ears twitching. She stared at her sister's face, watching her expression twist slightly and then a little bit of excitement appeared.

Both sisters were ambitious, and although Goldenkit didn't fully realize it yet, Silverkit knew her sister wanted to beat her just as much as she wanted to be better than Goldenkit.

"Let's go."

The identical twins padded forward, their paw-steps light as they neared the exit of camp. They were quiet as they could be, but silence wasn't the same as invisibility; and of course they were noticed.

"Where are you going?" A dark tabby tom questioned from behind them, his voice coated with amusement. Silverkit smirked; thank the stars it was Bumbleflight. He was a good father to his kits, and a decent fighter, but not the brightest tom.

Goldenkit glanced at her sister for a heartbeat before staring lightly back at the tom. "Out." She responded lightly, her face expressionless.

"Oh, no, you're not." Bumbleflight grinned at them, wrapping his tail around the kits and scooting them back towards the clearing. Silverkit knew he had kits of his own; and that he loved them, so he was naturally protective of the other kits in the nursery because they were friends of his own.

"Alright." Silverkit shrugged. "I guess we'll go play."

The brown tabby nodded lightly, tail twitching with approval.

"What are you doing?" Goldenkit blinked at her sister, golden eyes wide with disapproval. "You've never backed down like this before."

"Relax," She rolled her eyes. "that idiot's going to visit his kits in a few moments. He has nothing to do, and seeing us is just a reminder that he has kits of his own to play with and visit. After he goes, we can just sneak out."

Goldenkit seemed to ponder about it for a while before nodding. "I guess." She agreed.

Silverkit kept her golden gaze fixed on the brown tabby, and sure enough he picked a large squirrel from the fresh-kill pile and padded towards the nursery, his eyes already glowing with affection. Silverkit didn't have to tell her sister, because the flex of her sibling's muscle showed her that she was ready to go. They decided not to go through the exit of the camp, but they went through the dirt-place tunnel.

"This is gross." Goldenkit stated, her nose crinkled in disgust.

Silverkit agreed with her sister, so she held her breath and dashed through as fast as she could, feeling her sister running by her side.

They burst through the exit of the dirt-place tunnel, gasping as they once more felt the moonlight on their pelts. It was already moon-high, but it didn't matter; this was their last chance to explore as a kit, and not as an apprentice, as tomorrow was their apprentice ceremony.

A gust of cold wind brushed past her, ruffling her silver pelt and fluttering her pale lashes. Her pale eyes glowed in the shadows of nighttime, and she glanced up. The sky was a dark blue, tinted with purple and black, being lit up as it neared the moon. The moon was a milky white, but there were shadows covering over it, and it hung amongst a series of twinkling stars, all glowing with the celestial sheen they possessed. Silverpelt.

"It's prettier out here than in camp." Goldenkit breathed. Her sister twitched her ear in acknowledgement, but focused on the forest lying ahead of her.

The trees loomed over them, their almost bare branches crooked and twisted, their shadows reflecting on the ground looking like claws ready to get them. Silverkit shivered, claws pricking eerily at her spine. She heard the chirping of crickets, and the sudden call of a bird before a rustle of branches up front as it flew away. She watched it; easily recognizing it as a blackbird. It's black feathers melted into the darkness of the night sky, and she tracked it by it's eyes; two pinpoints of light.

She breathed in the scent, wanting to take in everything. It tasted fresh and like pines, but she could also detect a small scent of blood wafting through the air; but not cat blood, the simple blood of prey. She detected a metallic taste as well, knowing that leaf-bare was just on the horizon. The scent of other cats were strong, as well as prey and even a few herbs and flowers.

A large tree loomed above her, and she was immediately drawn to it. It's branches were gnarled and crooked, looking like claws reaching out to rip at her flesh. There were claw marks on one edge of it, marring the otherwise smooth bark that clung onto the trunk. The leaves connected to branches, branches connecting to the trunk. It was all a system; a tree wouldn't be a tree without branches, nor would it be a tree without a trunk. They relied on each other.

Sort of like her and Goldenkit.

She stepped forward, completely mesmerized by the tree, compelling her paws to pull her forward. It was almost as if she was drawn to it; and couldn't fight the force that was bringing her to it.

She felt her sister's pelt bristle slightly as she padded quietly next to her sister, and they both neared the tree.

"Look at that tree." Silverkit meowed quietly.

Goldenkit flicked her tail at Silverkit's ear. "I see it."

"It's the first tree I actually noticed in this whole forest." Silverkit meowed quietly. "And once I saw the trunk and branches, the first thing I thought of was you and me. We rely on each other, just as the trunk and branches rely on each other to become a tree."

Goldenkit's eyes glowed. "Then this can be our tree."

The silver she-cat bounded forward before her sister could ask why, and she scratched the wood with her right paw, the claws digging into the bark. Silverkit knew what her sister was doing, and scratched over the same exact spot, their claw marks overlapping and together. Like they were.

Silverkit watched the tree.

She watched as a leaf snapped off from the twig it clung onto, and delicately spiraled downward. The breeze pushed it around, causing it to dance and twist violently in the air as it fluttered downwards. She followed the movement with her eyes, and her heart leapt into her throat as she saw a pair of dark amber eyes beneath them. She followed the gaze, and realized it was staring straight at her.

"Goldenkit." She hissed, her heart pounding. "What is that?"

"I don't know, but lets go." Her sister sounded slightly scared, and Silverkit detected a tremor in her meow. The two sisters turned tail to run, but there was a blur and something appeared in front of them.

They screamed at the same time, recoiling backwards.

"What are you two doing out here." There was a cold voice, dark with hostility. Silverkit's eyes had adjusted to the darkness, and she peered at the cat. He had a brilliant golden tabby pelt with long, sharp claws and piercing amber eyes. _Lionclaw_.

"We're…" Goldenkit exchanged glances with her sister. "Uh…"

"Sleepwalking?" Silverkit joked, obviously not dazed by the fact that they had just run into a warrior. "Look, Lionclaw, we're already six moons, well, tomorrow, so we're pretty much apprentices already." She shrugged loosely.

"But you're still kits today." He growled at them, his ears flattened against his head.

"Yeah," Goldenkit meowed quietly. "And we're sorry. Please don't tell."

_Sorry?  
_

Silverkit stared at her sister, shocked by what she had just said. Did her sister just apologize? She unsheathed her claws and dug them into her sister's paw, fixing her with an angry glare. They never apologized.

"Fine." Lionclaw snarled. "But I'm only letting you off the hook because I don't want to go through the trouble of telling the clan leader, and all this talking, and whatever else." With an angry flick of his tail he beckoned the kits to him.

"What were you thinking, telling him we were sleepwalking?" Goldenkit hissed to her sister, her eyes flashing. "Is this all just a joke to you? I don't want to be called a kit forever!"

"What were you thinking?" Silverkit flashed back, her eyes narrowed with anger. "Apologizing? As if it was our fault that Lionclaw caught us?"

"It is our fault that Lionclaw caught us!" Goldenkit snapped back to her sister. "No. It isn't actually." She shook her head wildly, her eyes blazing with anger. Silverkit recoiled from her sister; she had never seen her so mad. Usually her sister didn't really talk back to her, and just agreed with most things. "It's your fault!"

Then their beautiful relationship started to break. And the first piece was already almost completely crumbled off.

"My fault?" Silverkit snarled back to her sister. "You were on board with this whole thing! I just wanted to do something fun, and if you hadn't made us go to that stupid tree in the first place, Lionclaw never would have caught us!"

Goldenkit's eyes flew wide. "Stupid tree? You were the one who said that it reminded you of us! How we relied on each other. I'm sorry for just wanting to just do something to commemorate it!"

"I don't care if you wanted to commemorate it!" Silverkit yowled back at her sister. "It's just a stupid tree! You're my sister, we aren't a tree! We aren't one cat, we're two different cats, with different souls, no matter how many times other people get us mixed up, we're not the same cat! And it's time for us to start realizing it."

The silence that hung around them hurt more than claws in her pelt.

Silverkit knew that ever since her and her sister were kits, they liked to pretend they were one cats. They made up their own signs of communications with flicks of the tail, twitches of the ears, blinks of the eyes and muscle movement. They liked to press as close as they could to each other, and even though they had their own separate nests, they were always found in the same one, their bodies entwined. Their tails twined together, one head on the other's stomach, their paws touching, or so on. They were always together. So much they were practically the same cat.

Silverkit prayed that Lionclaw hadn't heard their argument, as he was quite a way ahead of them, and if he had heard it… she didn't know what to think.

"I…" Goldenkit sounded broken as she gazed sadly at her sister.

"I'm…" Silverkit didn't know what to say, appalled at her own outburst.

They padded in silence the rest of the way, and entered camp together. Always together. Lionclaw was ahead, muttering quietly to Dawnflight, and the she-cat nodded quickly and fixed her gaze on them. She looked as if she was going to beckon them forward, but Lionclaw shook his head urgently and muttered something.

Silverkit's heart dropped. He knew about their argument.

Silverkit however skidded to a stop and stepped in front of her sister. "I'm sorry, Goldenkit… I-"

"Don't." Goldenkit meowed, shaking her head and cutting her sister off. "You're right. We aren't the same cat. We were never the same cat."

"What?" Silverkit frowned. "I… I know that. But we're sisters and best friends, we think of everything together and do everything together."

"No. We don't." Goldenkit meowed, her ears flattened against her head and her shoulders sagging. She looked so miserable Silverkit felt as if her heart would shatter into a thousand pieces. "You think of everything, and you force me to follow you."

Silverkit opened her jaws to protest. "I don't force you to follow me!"

"Yes you do." Goldenkit meowed firmly but calmly, although her sister could detect the anger in her voice. "And I'm telling you that I won't follow you again unless I want to. Ever."

And that changed everything.

"Fine." Silverkit meowed coldly. "Then get out of my face."

She detected sadness on her sister's face, and truthfully she was sad too. They were as close as could be; but they both knew they were falling apart.

If her sister didn't follow her… that meant everything changed. That her sister was going to go be popular, without her. To have friends without her, to have a mate before her, to train to be a warrior better than her. Silverkit knew her sister was more likable, which was why she was so vital to her.

Goldenkit padded sadly to the nursery, looking crestfallen, her ears drooping, head hanging and shoulders sagging. She looked like an injured kit.

"I'm sorry, Goldenkit." Silverkit meowed quietly. "But if you're not going to follow me, then we're not going to be friends. And I don't just have acquaintances. If we aren't friends, then we're rivals. Enemies."

Then she spun around and stalked back to the nursery.

And for the first time in their lives, they slept in different nests. Separately.


	2. 2

_Thanks for all the reviews, follows, and favorites!(: _

_Here's the next chapter. Things are getting intense between the sisters. o':_

* * *

Pale light filtered through the cracks of the nursery, entering the den and dappling the pelts of the sleeping cats inside. The sun's beams of bright light stung at their lids, forcing them open as they groaned, their eyes still bleary with sleep, rising to their paws. Despite the cold weather outside, it was toasty and warm inside, and they were reluctant to awaken and leave their safe haven.

A pale silver kit was staring at the sleeping body of her sister in another nest, her flank rising and falling peacefully. Her silver fur was still slightly fluffy, her long lashes brushing the top of her angular cheekbones, her face completely wiped of any emotion and of stress. She looked so young; so vulnerable.

Hesitantly, she reached out a paw to touch her sister; to feel the warmth from her body flood into her own. She prodded her gently, then jerked back as if shocked. She was scared that her sister wouldn't forgive her. "Silverkit?" She meowed, her voice hesitant, and almost shy. "Are you awake?" Her voice was so quiet, so weak, you'd think that she was injured or ill. She was none of those things; just afraid.

The kit stirred, her eyelids blinking open and revealing her bright golden eyes. Her face hardens as she notices her sister, her eyes turning steely and posture stiffening. "What do you want?" Her voice is cold, icy.

Distraught, her sister's eyes widen and her upper lip trembles. "I'm sorry." She whispered, desperate for forgiveness. She reaches out to her sister, longing for her sister to purr and twine their bodies together. However, her sister just stares at her, golden eyes like chips of ice. Instead of taking her paw, she shoulders past her sister and stalks out of the nursery.

The silence that hangs there is deafening.

Goldenkit looked mournfully after her sister, poking tentatively at her sister's nest. She picks herself up and gently places herself in the soft moss, curling up where her sister was a moment ago. It is still warm, and she presses her muzzle against the moss, wishing it wasn't just a shadow of where her sister was, but was her sister. She closes her eyes, and just lays there for a while, relaxing. Almost subconsciously, she twines her tail, and reaches out with her paw.

She feels nothing but the cold emptiness of absence.

Startled, she pulls back, her eyes flying wide. She doesn't see her sister in the nest. She was reaching out for air. Miserably, she picks herself up and pads silently out of the nest. Outside, her mother is fussing over her twin. Feathercloud rasps her tongue between her kits ears, and swiftly begins to groom her pelt. Silverkit complains, but doesn't stop her.

Goldenkit pads in front of them, desperately trying to meet her sister's eyes. Her twin seems to be evading her, as she quickly casted her gaze down at her paws, her ears flattened. Her lip was curled however, and her tail twitching irritably, a quick warning that her sister should leave.

Sighing, the golden eyed kit pads away from her sister.

"Don't move!" A sharp voice stops her in her tracks. Her mother, Feathercloud, is eyeing her pelt in disapproval. "You need to wash up. Wait right here, your father is coming."

Goldenkit groaned. "I can wash myself, mother." She sighed, her tail flicking from side to side.

She heard a purr from behind her, and then a dark pelt blurred into vision. Sun-colored amber eyes glowed with affection as they scanned her pelt, and then a thick tail was wrapped around her and pulling her closer. "And yet, I'm still going to wash you." He smiled against her fur as he rasped his tongue over her ear, giving her a swift grooming.

"Shadestrike, don't forget to leave the tuft up behind my ear!" Goldenkit meowed quickly, not bothering to struggle against her father's firm grip. She felt her father purr in slight amusement and rasp at her ear, licking up a tuft of fur so it stood up straight. "Good." Her voice was light with approval.

"Silverkit's done." Feathercloud reported after finishing with her daughter, nudging her forward. Goldenkit watched as her sister gazed at Highledge, a bored look on her face.

A few heartbeats later, Shadestrike finished up with his other daughter and nodded with approval. "So is Goldenkit." He nudged the kit forward, leading her next to her sister.

The two kits eyed each other warily before edging closer, both of them tensing and stiffening as their pelts touched. Tension crackled beneath them like a storm, and Goldenkit felt her heart pound against her chest. Silverkit didn't move to twine their tails, and instead wrapped her tail neatly over her own paws.

Their parents stared uneasily at them, shifting their paws awkwardly. Shadestrike cleared his throat. "It's time." He meowed awkwardly, rasping his tongue over both his daughters' ears. Feathercloud nodded encouragingly at them, but Silverkit just rolled her eyes, looking bored as usual. Unlike her sister, Goldenkit's eyes glowed with excitement, and she refrained herself from dashing towards Highledge.

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather around Highledge!" A loud, commanding yowl echoed around the hollow, and a golden brown tom appeared on Highledge. He looked strong and commanding, his chin raised, eyes serious but also kind at the same time, shoulders broad and body held very straight. Cats quickly began to gather; as they all knew what today was. It was the day that the strange twins of ThunderClan became apprentices. "Today I am doing one of my favorite things as a clan leader. Silverkit, Goldenkit, step forward." He beckoned the two sisters with a wave of his tail.

Both sisters padded forward, their pelts brushing. They didn't pull away this time, and hesitantly, Goldenkit touched her tail to her sister's. Silverkit didn't yank her tail away as she had expected, but she held her tail still. They were offering each other silent support.

"The time has come for Silverkit and Goldenkit to be apprenticed." Thornstar meowed, eyes gleaming. Shadestrike and Feathercloud's eyes shone with pride as they lifted their chins high.

"Goldenkit." As she heard her name, she stepped forward, suddenly feeling very self-conscious and alone. Her sister nodded once at her, and she padded silently towards her leader, eyes round. "You have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Goldenpaw." He paused for a moment, his eyes scanning over the cats and resting upon a cream furred she-cat. "Your mentor will be Dawnflight. I hope Dawnflight will pass down all she knows to you."

Goldenkit's eyes widened with shock; she had gotten the deputy as her mentor! She turned around, and instead of the kind, supporting expression her sister had just a few heartbeats ago, it was a mask of anger and jealousy. Silverkit glared at her sister; as if it was her fault that she had gotten the deputy. The deputy's new apprentice wanted to wail and cry out to the leader; she didn't want the deputy as her mentor, not if it made her sister unhappy. She just wanted to befriend her sister again.

"Dawnflight, you are my trustworthy deputy and have trained Bumbleflight well, and I think you are ready to take on another apprentice. You have received excellent training from Sorrelwing, and you have shown yourself to be quick-witted and intelligent. You will be the mentor of Goldenpaw, and I expect you to pass down all you know to Goldenpaw." The cream furred deputy leaned forward, the stripes on her pelt rippling, eyes gleaming with confidence. Goldenpaw cast one last look at her sister, who's face was darkened with anger and now contorted into a scowl, before hesitantly touching noses with her new mentor. She drew away to the side, and watched her sister nervously.

_Please let her get a good cat as he mentor. _She prayed silently. _Please, StarClan._

"Silverkit." The pale she-kit padded forward, staring defiantly at her leader, chin raised and eyes dark. She seemed to be demanding the leader to give her a better mentor than her sister; which meant only one thing. That she demanded her leader to mentor her himself. "You have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Silverpaw." He hesitated a moment, suddenly looking unsure, his confidence wavering. He pressed on, and Goldenpaw's stomach clenched. "Your mentor will be Lionclaw. I hope Lionclaw will pass down all he knows to you."

Goldenpaw felt bile rise in her throat, and fought the urge to puke. Her mind spun, her heart twisting and her stomach in multiple knots. Her sister despised Lionclaw. Hated him. Silverpaw's eyes were wide with sheer fury and defiance as she glared coldly at the golden tom, who was stalking forward, clearly stiff and dissatisfied. A cold scowl split her face, and she glared at her sister, directing all her anger towards her. Goldenpaw winced, taking a step back, wanting nothing more than for her sister to stop staring at her like that.

"Lionclaw, you have trained Blacktail well, and are ready to take on another apprentice. You have received excellent training from Stormfire, and you have shown yourself to be courageous and strong. You will be the mentor of Silverpaw, and I expect you to pass down all you know to Silverpaw." Thornstar continued.

Goldenpaw watched nervously, anxious to see what happened next.

The golden tom stared coldly at his apprentice, amber eyes piercing, but reluctantly leaned forward to touch noses with her. Silverpaw glowered at him, her golden eyes blazing. She jerked her muzzle away as he leaned towards her, and she took a big step back, spitting angrily at him, eyes narrowed into slits.

Gasps of shock and confusion rose from the crowd, and cats began to whisper to themselves. It was highly disrespectful to do this to a mentor, and Silverpaw was being extremely rude. Feathercloud looked flustered as she faced her mate, eyes wide with panic. Shadestrike mirrored her expression, looking horrified.

"I don't want Lionclaw as my mentor." Silverpaw spat at her clan leader, eyes like chips of ice. "He's a fox-heart and he is also mouse-brained, and he's unfit to train an apprentice." Her lip curled, and she arched her back, hissing at Lionclaw as he fixed her in a cold stare. He didn't make a single step forward, however.

"Silverpaw." Thornstar began, his voice stiff with anger. "Lionclaw is your mentor. Touch noses with him, _now_."

"I don't want to touch noses with him!" Silverpaw yowled at her clan leader, eyes blazing a challenge. "I _hate _him."

Lionclaw's cold posture broke for a moment, and for that single heartbeat he just looked bewildered. Then his stone-hard mask returned again, and he watched the confrontation between apprentice and leader through slitted eyes, claws unsheathed and lightly raking over the ground.

"I said," The golden-brown tom hissed, his patience clearly running out. He was leader, and he obviously didn't like to be denied by a freshly made apprentice. "touch noses with him." As he saw the she-cat made no move to do so, his voice rose to a shout. "_NOW_!"

"Just touch noses with him." Feathercloud seemed to be begging her daughter, looking ashamed, her paws shuffling awkwardly and posture stiff with shock but also disapproval. Shadestrike however, was looking angry as he fixed his daughter in a defiant stare.

"I don't want to." Silverpaw continued her argument.

Shadestrike seemed to have had enough. "_I don't care_!" He roared, slamming his paws down on the ground. "Why can't you just be like your sister? To be kind and accepting? Lionclaw is your mentor, and it's bad enough your being disrespectful to him, but you're also being rude to your _clan leader. _You're bringing shame to me, your mother, and you're sister, who didn't do anything wrong! So touch noses with your mentor, _right now_."

Silverpaw blinked, obviously taken back. She was perfectly still for a moment, before dragging her gaze from her father, and focusing it on her mentor. Stiffly, she reached forward and touched her nose to him, quickly before yanking back as if he had slashed her nose open. Then she bolted from his side and dashed towards the apprentice's den, her whole body quivering and eyes darkened with sadness.

Goldenpaw leapt to her paws, shouldering past her parents and every other cat in her way. "Silverpaw, wait!" She cried out, and before she even knew it her paws were slamming down on the cold ground, pushing her forward in a relentless pursuit. She nervously poked her head into the apprentice's den, staring at her sister. The pale she-cat was faced away, her head lowered and her shoulders sagging. "Silverpaw?" Goldenpaw sounded uncertain and scared. "Are you okay?"

Silverpaw swung her head around, and the look she gave her sister was so filled with hatred Goldenpaw took a step back, her heart pounding. "Get away from me." Her meow was brittle as ice, as she stared icily at her sister. Her claws were unsheathed now, and her smoky stripes rippled as she twisted her body around so she faced her sister. "Go away, now!" Her voice was a roar, angrier than Goldenpaw had ever heard it before.

"Shadestrike didn't mean it!" The she-cat, although scared, still tried. Her voice was coated with desperation, golden eyes pleading as she stared at her sister, begging her to understand. "He was just desperate. We can go to Thornstar! We can demand a switch of mentors. I can take Lionclaw, and you can have Dawnflight." Her voice cracked, sounding weak and pathetic. "The deputy. You're ambition. What you've always wanted right? To have a good mentor?"

"Thornstar will never allow it." Her sister's voice was filled with hatred, and she fixed her sister in a icy but also angry glare. She seemed to have calmed down slightly, but her whole body was still trembling. "He hates me."

Goldenpaw shuffled closer to her sister, and unsure, she slowly rested her tail on her sister's shoulder. "He doesn't hate you. He's just mad right now. He'll get over it, and we can still be deputy and leader. Just as we wanted. Remember our dream? Silverstar and her loyal deputy, Golden-whatever?"

Her sister seemed to relax for a moment, and she glanced at her sister, almost shyly.

Dawnflight poked her head into the apprentice's den. "The cats of the clan are very disappointed in you, Silverpaw." She meowed, shaking her head. "Goldenpaw, come out with your sister, and let the apprentice ceremony finish."

In all the excitement but also horror; Goldenpaw hadn't bothered to take note of the fact that the clan had not chanted their names yet.

Hesitantly, the younger sister twined her tail with her sister, and the two she-cats padded out of the den, close again already. However, she knew that her sister was still angry at her, as Silverpaw was not a very forgiving cat, and it would take a while to earn her trust back. But she would wait forever for it. This was the one relationship she valued so highly over everything else.

Thornstar's voice was stiff, darkened with anger as he regarded the two newly made apprentices. "Train hard, and good luck. I hope to see you two as warriors soon." He meowed, but his voice sounded resigned and cold. He then nodded once before turning around and padding back into his den. "After the ceremony, Silverpaw, Lionclaw, come to my den."

"Goldenpaw! Silverpaw!" The cats chanted, their voices loud with approval. However, Goldenpaw noticed, and she knew her sister did too, that their voices died down a bit when they said Silverpaw. They sounded far more enthusiastic about the deputy's apprentice than they did about Lionclaw's, and some cats didn't even bother to chant her name, instead they looked down at their paws, quiet but also probably angry.

Silverpaw then spat at her sister, untwining their tails and heading back towards the apprentice's den. Her fur was bristling, and her back was arched as she faced Goldenpaw, because she knew her sister would come running after her.

Goldenpaw felt her parents call after her and her sister, but then she heard her mentor's voice. It was low and quiet, but she could detect the words.

_"Let your daughters work this out. This is something they need to do." Dawnflight meowed quietly. "If they don't do this, their relationship might never heal." _

Goldenpaw burst into the apprentice's den, and stared at her sister. Her twin's eyes blazed with hatred, so much so that Goldenpaw felt a tremor of fear.

Fear of her own sister.

~•~•~•~•~•~

"How could you?" Silverpaw spat, her eyes ice cold as she glared at her sister. This was all Goldenpaw's fault; if her ridiculous sister hadn't gotten them caught the previous night, then she probably wouldn't have hated Lionclaw as much as she did today. She knew Thornstar didn't assign him to her because he hated her, she knew he assigned him to her because Lionclaw requested it. But she didn't understand why. "How could you do this to me?"

Anger and hatred for her sister surged beneath her pelt, hot fury boiling in her veins. She struggled to keep it under control, curling her claws down into the bottom of the den, digging into the ground. She clenched her teeth so hard she was afraid it would crack. Her heart slammed against her ribs, blood roaring in her ears. She struggled to keep her cool as she stared angrily at the cat before her.

The cat she hated more than anything else in the world.

The cat who had publicly shamed her.

The cat who she would _never _forgive.

"I…" Goldenpaw looked as if she was at loss of words. "I don't know what you mean!" Her voice was desperate, pleading. "Please! I didn't mean for any of this to happen… I don't know how or why it happened. Please believe me." Her eyes clouded over with sadness and also slight regret as she stared miserably at her sister.

"You made Lionclaw choose me as his apprentice! To punish me. All because he heard our argument that night, and you had said I wasn't your follower. He must have done something, wanted to prove me wrong, to punish me." She shook her head wildly. "If you had never gotten us caught, it wouldn't be like this!"

Then Silverpaw lunged at her sister, knocking her back. Goldenpaw let out a yowl of surprise as she slammed against the wall, her eyes darkening with pain. Silverpaw didn't unsheathe her claws or bite at her sister, but she pinned her sister down, slamming her against the cold, frozen floor. Silverpaw pressed her forepaw heavily against her sister's choke, and heard a choking sound.

"I'm sorry!" Goldenpaw gasped out, sounding strangled.

_Sorry? _Silverpaw couldn't believe her ears. Her sister was actually saying sorry. As if saying sorry would do any good at all! She hated her sister so much, she was almost afraid of the anger rising inside of her. She wanted nothing more then to make her sister pay; to make the clan realize she was the better sister. This is a minor setback, but they would forgive her. Eventually.

"You should be sorry!" Silverpaw snarled, stepping back and off her sister.

"You're not making any sense!" Goldenpaw suddenly argued, her eyes wide with anger. "You're blaming me for something that isn't my fault! I didn't tell Lionclaw to choose you as his apprentice! I didn't tell Thornstar to make me the deputy's apprentice! Why are you blaming me for this? This is mouse-brained!"

The older sister's eyes widened, the smoky streak along her spine rippling as she twisted, and arched her back, spitting at her sister. "You know what's mouse-brained? Your very own sister betraying you. I know you want me gone, so you can be the one special cat. I know all you want is for yourself to be in the spotlight. You want me lost in your shadow, don't you?" She shook her head. Her sister could be so cruel sometimes. She deserved all of the pain that Silverpaw would someday inflict upon her.

"No!" Goldenpaw's voice was shaky, shocked. "I would never do that! I just want us to be friends again!" She meowed, looking as if she was begging her sister. "I swear to StarClan!"

"You remember when we were kits, and I asked you," Silverpaw drew in a shaky breath. "If you would be my best friend forever? And you promised, and swore to StarClan?" Goldenpaw nodded, her head a blur as she nodded as hard and fast as she could. Silverpaw's face hardened. "Well, you broke that promise, and I will never," Her voice rose to a shriek of anger. _"_believe you again! I will never forgive you for this. _Never_!"

"I…" Goldenpaw looked so lonely and sad all of a sudden, stepping back. "I never broke that promise." Her voice cracked. "I want to be your best friend. I really do."

Silverpaw was livid, her eyes glowing with hate as she clouted her sister heavily over the ear. Goldenpaw recoiled from the blow, her eyes wide with shock. "You're a liar!" She shrieked at her sister, eyes wild and pelt bristling. "You're a filthy liar!" She clouted her sister heavily over the ear again, and Goldenpaw whimpered with pain, raising her paws over her face to protect herself.

Then a drop of blood hit the floor, and both sisters seemed to freeze for a heartbeat.

Silverpaw stared at her sister, and Goldenpaw stared back. Golden gazes reflected, memories swimming in both of them. Silver pelts matched, only one of them was dripping blood. Silverpaw's gaze trailed down to her paw, stiffening in shock, as her claws were drenched in blood.

The younger sister had a small cut on her right ear, and then she screamed. "What did I ever do to you?" She cried out, sounding hopelessly distressed. "What did I ever do?"

"You did everything." Silverpaw meowed coldly.

Then Goldenpaw snapped. She lunged at her sister, wrapping her paws around her neck and thrusting her downwards. She clouted her sister over the ear as well. "Now you know how it feels!" She snarled at her sister, eyes darkened with anger. "What it feels like to be hated on! Hit! Hurt by your own sister." Her voice cracked, and then suddenly the weight was off of Silverpaw's back.

Her right ear stung, and she raised a paw to it. As she withdrew it, her pad was smeared with blood. "You…" Silverpaw meowed, her eyes wide.

"I…" Goldenpaw stared at her sister. "I'm so sorry!" She wailed, rushing towards her. "Are you hurt?"

Silverpaw stepped back, fear, hatred, and anger flickering in her eyes. "Get away from me." Her voice was cold enough to freeze fire.

Goldenpaw froze, her eyes scared. "I…"

"I don't care." Silverpaw snarled. "This wound will never heal!"

"This one won't either!"

"Unbelievable." Silverpaw meowed suddenly, her voice dark. "Even with scars. The exact same position." Goldenpaw twitched her ear with shock, and she padded over to the edge of the apprentice's den, and Silverpaw stepped further away from her sister.

There was a small puddle of water, as there was some water leaking from a crack on the ceiling. In the puddle, Silverpaw inspected herself. There was a small nick at the right side of her right ear, near the tip. It wasn't very large, and went almost halfway through. She then inspected her sister's wound. It was a small nick at the right side of her right ear as well, and was also near the tip. It went almost halfway through. Even the wounds were identical.

Both sisters stared, shocked, at each other.

"Goldenpaw? Silverpaw?" A head poked into the apprentice's den. It was Feathercloud's. Her eyes widened with horror as she glanced at her two daughter's, and the splatters of blood tainting the ground of the apprentice's den. The tuft that stuck up behind Goldenpaw's ear was gone, flattened. The scar was in the exact same position. There was no way of knowing who was who.

"Silverpaw, I'm sorry." Shadestrike meowed quietly, his head poking in as well. Then his eyes widened, and he recoiled at the sight.

Silverpaw and Goldenpaw stared at each other, shocked as well.

Silverpaw felt sticky with sweat, and suddenly so cold. Her heart pounded with fear, and her mind whirled as she stepped back from her sister. She was shaking so hard she could barely keep her own balance. Goldenpaw was the exact same.

"The medicine cat's den." Shadestrike meowed firmly. "Now."

Then an idea popped into Silverpaw's head, and she glanced at her sister. Her sister. So vulnerable and so afraid, looking so small and miserable in the corner of the apprentice's den, too cowardly to even face her sister. The hot rage flooded her veins again, the rage at the betrayal, the cold fury spread through her like wildfire. Goldenpaw was a lying, betraying, traitor. She didn't deserve Dawnflight.

Silverpaw turned away from her sister, and with a claw quickly flicked up a tuft of fur behind her right ear. "I'm fine." She meowed, her voice still quivering. "I don't know about Silverpaw, but I'm going to go train with Dawnflight."

She felt her sister's surprise flood off her in waves, and she fixed her sister in a wide stare. "W-what?" She meowed, shocked. "B-but, Silverpaw…"

Silverpaw feigned surprise, her ear twitching. "I'm sorry, sister… I didn't mean to do any of this." She meowed, acting like her kind, her annoyingly kind sister. They could switch back later. She knew her sister was kind, and once she started getting treated like Silverpaw, then she would go apologize to everyone for her. So this way, Silverpaw wouldn't have to put herself at shame to apologize, as her sister would do it for her. "I just got mad…" She confessed, her eyes wide and forcing herself to make her lip quiver.

"It's okay, Goldenpaw." Her mother meowed softly, rushing towards Silverpaw and nuzzling her ear. "Silverpaw will be fine, won't she?"

Goldenpaw still looked bewildered and then she noticed the tuft of fur sticking up behind her sister's ear. Anger clouded her eyes, almost as strong as the hurt that was radiating off of her pelt. "I'm Goldenpaw!" She protested to her parents, begging them. "Please, believe me!"

Silverpaw flashed her sister a cold sneer before wiping it off her face, and fixing her mother in a weak stare. She then dragged her gaze off her mother and fixed it on her sister. "Silverpaw? Are you okay?" She whispered gently, reaching out her tail to her sister. "Did you hit your head when we were tussling?"

"I didn't hit my head!" The real Goldenpaw shouted, her eyes round with anger. "I know that I'm the real Goldenpaw!"

Shadestrike exchanged a worried look with his mate. "Silverpaw, honey…" His voice was so sickly sweet, so kind it stung the real Silverpaw. She felt a flash of remorse, of pity for her sister, but she pushed it away. Shadestrike stepped warily towards his daughter, who he thought was Silverpaw, and pulled her close. She didn't make any noise, just made a muffled, choking noise against his pelt.

"Is she going to be okay?" Silverpaw didn't need to force herself to sound scared, because she was. Her sister would never forgive her for doing this. For stealing her identity. "Is Silverpaw's memory going to fix?"

Goldenpaw then pulled back, and fixed her sister in a cold stare. "You know what?" She meowed brightly, pulling on a fake, overly bright smile. "I was just a bit dizzy. I remember now. I'm Silverpaw, and you're Goldenpaw." She purred, and pressed her muzzle into her sister's shoulder fur.

Silverpaw forced herself not to shake, or to pull away from her sister.

"Thank StarClan." Feathercloud purred in relief, wrapping her tail around her daughter. Shadestrike also smiled, and stroked his daughter's pelt with his tail.

"Goldenpaw, I think you should go train with Dawnflight now. Silverpaw is going to go discuss her punishment with Thornstar." Shadestrike advised lightly.

Silverpaw smiled lightly. Her sister was falling for it; her sister obviously thought that Silverpaw wanted to be her, and she thought that Silverpaw was trying to punish her by forcing her to be Silverpaw, and endure the pain and embarrassment. From the determined glint in her sister's eyes, Silverpaw knew her sister was going to repair her very own reputation, and she wouldn't have to lift a claw. She purred. "I hope Thornstar doesn't give you too bad of a punishment." Then she padded lightly out of the apprentice's den, as if nothing happened.

"Did you and Silverpaw work it out?" Dawnflight inquired, her eyes concerned.

Silverpaw grinned happily. "Everything is perfect."

"I'm glad to hear it." Dawnflight nodded lightly. "Come with me; we are going to go explore the territory."

Silverpaw turned around, and watched Goldenpaw fix her with a defiant stare, before lifting her chin and padding up to Highledge, prepared to face Thornstar.

A cold smirk split Silverpaw's face.

Everything was going perfectly; and the best part was, that she felt almost no regret for tricking her sister like this.


	3. 3

_Thanks for the reviews, follows, and favs! Sorry for the slow updates, I was working on my other stories. Here's the next chapter, enjoy(: !_

* * *

"A quarter moon punishment. Three done, four sunrises left."

Goldenpaw blinked at the cat who had spoken, and stiffened for a heartbeat. The fur on her spine rose, but she forced it down, and forced the rest of her to remain flat. She lifted her chin and stared boldly into her mentor's eyes. "Yeah. Still a long time to go." She answered, completely straight-forward.

The golden tom snorted, rolling his eyes. "Serves you right." Lionclaw muttered, shouldering past her. "Now go do your punishment. Shoo." Goldenpaw scowled fiercely at him, her ears twitching with anger.

"Just cleaning ticks and changing moss?" Goldenpaw asked solemnly, her golden eyes wide. He turned his head around and gave her a firm nod before sighing and spinning back around, stalking back into the clearing. He grabbed a shrew and flopped down onto the ground, eating at it in quick, ravenous gulps.

She dragged her gaze from him and focused it on the medicine cat's den, where Briarleaf was fussing around with a few herbs. The dark brown tabby's eyes were dark with disapproval, and she looked frustrated. She padded lightly to the medicine cat's den, popping her head in warily.

"Briarleaf?" Her voice was wary, but also exasperated. She had been doing this for a while now, yesterday she had done the nursery, the previous day she had done the apprentice's den, and the first day Thornstar actually was angry enough to force her to clean out the entire warrior's den. Does he even realize how many warriors were in ThunderClan? He obviously expected her to take at least three days to do so, but she had only taken two. She had finish the apprentice's den and nursery on the same day. She worked harder than any other cat had possibly done; and she knew she had impressed her leader. Her paws and back still ached.

"Mouse-bile, I got it." The dark she-cat mewed from inside the den, before rushing Goldenpaw in. "Silverpaw, you know what to do right? With mouse-bile, I mean?"

Goldenpaw nodded quickly.

She was slightly hurt that the cats didn't really realize it was her; Goldenpaw, and not Silverpaw. However, her sister was punishing her by forcing her to be Silverpaw. Her sister thought that she should suffer the humiliation that she irrelevantly and stupidly decided that she inflicted upon her. Goldenpaw did not inflict anything upon her sister; it was all her own fault. She would be Silverpaw the best she could.

Somewhere inside of her, she knew her sister was just passing this off so Goldenpaw would repair her reputation for her. But the pale she-cat found that she didn't mind. Perhaps if she repaired her sister's reputation, was nice to the other cats… Then Silverpaw would forgive her for whatever wrong she thought her sister did? Then they could go back to being best friends, to being the inseparable twins.

More importantly, they could go back to being close as close could be.

"Are you going to daydream all day?" Briarleaf meowed sharply, cutting into her thoughts. Goldenpaw blinked, then dipped her head in apology before picking up the mouse-bile. "Good luck, Silverpaw!"

She flicked her tail showing that she received it. She crinkled her nose in disgust at the smell of the mouse-bile, as it completely reeked. The smell even began to make her eyes water, so she quickly raced across the clearing towards the elder's den.

As she raced back, she saw Silverpaw, lying next to Amberpaw and Thistlepaw, golden eyes glowing.

She tried to push down the surge of jealousy rising in her chest. Sure they thought it was her, but it really wasn't. And if they liked the way Silverpaw was, when they switched back… Then they wouldn't like Goldenpaw. They'd just go running straight to Silverpaw.

Goldenpaw padded lightly to the elder's den, flicking her den repeatedly. Tallheart was sleeping soundly at one edge of the den, his flank rising and falling as he snored softly. Mousepelt and Sorrelwing were chatting peacefully, their ears twitching and eyes bright. Sorrelwing suddenly let out a peal of laughter, nodding wildly as if agreeing.

"Hi…" Goldenpaw meowed hesitantly, padding silently into the den. Tall-green mouse amber

Sorrelwing blinked at her with round blue eyes, and Mousepelt sniffed in disapproval. Goldenpaw's pelt burned, feeling her sister's embarrassment as her own. "Hi, Silverpaw." Sorrelwing greeted her. "I hear you've been doing a fine job on the nests." The fake Silverpaw nodded quietly, ears flattened submissively against her head, which was lowered. She dropped the moss in one corner of the den before taking the mouse-bile out and slowly inching towards Mousepelt. He stiffened at her touch, but allowed her to pick off his ticks. She worked quietly, her claw parting his fur as she let the mouse-bile do it's job. She bit at a tick, letting it free.

"Done." Mousepelt says gruffly, sounding grateful but like he didn't want to admit it.

"Do you have any ticks, Sorrelwing?" Goldenpaw asks politely, padding towards the aging she-cat. Her fur was ruffled, and slightly patchy, but it looked clean and neat. She shook her head no, and Goldenpaw tentatively padded towards the last tom. "Tallheart?" She said softly, gently nudging at him. The tom blinked open his eyes; a sleepy pale green.

"Goldenpaw?" He mumbles, and she blinks in surprise that he recognizes her. As his glassy eyes focus, his gaze immediately flicks towards his ear, then his shoulders sag slightly in disappointment as he doesn't see the tuft. "Oh, hi, Silverpaw." He mumbles, his rumpled pelt rippling as he rose to a seated position. "I assume you're here for the ticks?"

"Yeah, I am." She answers, smiling kindly at him.

He flicks his tail at his flank. "I've a big one there. It's been bugging me for sunrises now." Goldenpaw immediately set to work, carrying the stinky mouse-bile over to his pelt and within heartbeats found the tick. She tugged at it with her teeth and it popped out, and she looked over at his fur. He only had one more near his shoulder and that was it.

"So, hows being an apprentice?" Sorrelwing asks her, not unkindly.

Goldenpaw shrugs. "I don't know." She replies honestly. "I've only been cleaning ticks and nests these few days."

Mousepelt snorts. "Rude kits these days… thinking they can oppose their own clan leader."

Goldenpaw lowers her head in shame, her golden gaze focused on her own paws. "I'm really sorry about that. I guess I was just jealous of…" She forces the name out of her mouth. "Goldenpaw, because she got the deputy and I got a mentor who I didn't really know that well."

Sorrelwing nods, understanding in her clear blue eyes. "I know what you mean. My sister got the deputy too, and he became leader during her apprenticeship. It was awful for me, because she was popular and had the clan leader, while I was just in her shadow." She ruffled Goldenpaw's pelt affectionately. "It'll blow over." She promised. "Lionclaw's a young cat full of potential. He'll train you well, just you see."

"Thanks." Goldenpaw mumbles, before standing awkwardly before Sorrelwing and the other elders. She shuffles her paws nervously. "Do you want me to work around you, or…"

"Working around us is fine." Mousepelt grunts, sinking deeper into his pelt.

Tallheart rolls his eyes. "Ignore him. He's such a grump." He blinks kindly at her. "We'll leave. It's probably good for us old cats to get a bit of sun isn't it?" He grins.

"You're not that old." Goldenpaw protests. "You've got the spirit of young warriors."

Sorrelwing's eyes twinkle with amusement. "Thanks, Silverpaw." She laughs, before slapping Mousepelt with her tail. The tom groaned but reluctantly heaved himself to his paws and followed the other two elders out, where they perched neatly outside, sprawling across the cool rock and letting the sun shine down on their pelts.

A twinge of jealousy entered Goldenpaw; oh how she wished she could be out in the forest. Feeling the grass and leaves crunch beneath her paws, the wind blowing against her fur, the adrenaline pumping through her… She sighed for a moment, completely in another universe. She then jerked herself back to reality. _The faster I get this done, the faster I can go out in the forest. _

She clawed at the moss in their old nests, ripping it up and rolling it into a tight bundle. She did the same with the other two, until she had a round, thick bundle of moss beneath her claws. She tried to carry it between her jaws, but it was too big, so she nudged at it with her nose. She rolled it outside the elder's den, letting out a squeak of surprise as it flew away from her. She charged after it, and stopped her. Nostalgia shot through her.

_"Goldenkit, catch the moss!" Silverkit giggled, batting the ball of moss towards her sister. Goldenkit leapt upwards, and slammed it back to her sister, grinning triumphantly. "You might beat me someday sister, but today's not that day!" With a triumphant leap upwards, Silverkit twists and kicks at the moss-ball with her hind-paws, shooting it towards her sister. Goldenkit reached for it, but found it was just a bit out of bounds. She fell to the ground, groaning. _

_"You win, again." Goldenkit groans, pelt bristling with annoyance._

_"Don't look so down." Silverkit purred, standing next to her sister. They pressed tightly against each other, their silver pelts touching and mottling. Their golden eyes were mirroring each other, a mischievous glint in them and a impish smile spreading across their face. "Let's go find Sunkit. I bet we can trick him into thinking rabbit droppings are a new kind of berry!" She waved her tail, and Goldenkit charged after her, giggling profusely. _

She dropped the dirty moss off, and went back to the elder's den. She scraped at the new moss and ferns, slowly building a nest for Sorrelwing. She weaved it together with the soft ferns, patting moss all over it to make it soft. She did the same for Tallheart and Mousepelt, swiftly, before poking her head back out the elder's den. It would be dusk soon, she could tell.

"I'm done." She reports to the elders.

"Thanks, Silverpaw." Tallheart smiles at her, and so does Sorrelwing. Even Mousepelt mutters a quiet thank you.

"I'll get you something to eat." She promises, before running towards the fresh-kill pile. Her stomach is rumbling with hunger, and she picks a plump squirrel and a mouse off the pile, before dashing back to the elder's den. "Will this be enough?" She asks, worried, as she drops the prey before them.

"It's enough." Sorrelwing nods at her. "Thanks for the hard work."

"No problem." Goldenpaw meows modestly, before padding back out towards the clearing. Stomach groaning with hunger, she realizes she hadn't eaten since dawn. She pawed out a small vole for herself, the smallest one she could find, as she wasn't hunting and she didn't deserve much. She ate it silently and alone, suddenly longing for the comfort of her sister at her side.

"Hi!" A small voice squeaks from behind her. She blinks in amusement, waving her tail at Sunkit.

"Hey, Sunkit." She purrs to the golden tabby tom, who grins happily.

"How's being an apprentice?" Sunkit asks curiously, ears twitching.

Goldenpaw sighed, she repeats what she told the elders. "I don't know." She confesses. "I've only been cleaning out moss and mouse bile."

"Oh." Sunkit frowns, looking down at the ground. "Oh, well." He then prances off, back towards the nursery. Goldenpaw feels the pang of loneliness return, before curling up into a tight ball, heart aching. A cat plops by her side, and she flinches with shock as she sees its Silverpaw.

"S-Silverpaw?" Goldenpaw blanches at her.

Silverpaw rolls her eyes. "You don't have to stutter. I'm not some sort of evil spirit. I'm not going to kill you."

"No, but you did steal my identity." Goldenpaw pointed out, tail waving.

Silverpaw blinked innocently, a light smile tugging at the corners of her lips. "What do you mean?" She protests, with fake sadness in her tone. "I've never stolen anything!"

"Knock it off." Goldenpaw mutters. "Are you here to gloat about how much fun you had training?"

"Nope." Silverpaw meowed to her surprise. "I'm here because I want to thank you."

Goldenpaw's heart does something of a little dance in her chest, nervous and confused and agitated at the same time. "Thank you?" She meows, shocked. "Thanking me for what?"

"For repairing my reputation. Well, almost. I just need you to go to a training session with Lionclaw, and then we can swap back." She says, obviously pleased with herself and her sister. Goldenpaw was glad her sister was happy, and talking to her again.

But it just wasn't the same.

"Why would I go to the training session with someone who's not my mentor?" Goldenpaw snaps at her sister, scowling.

Silverpaw shrugs. "Because you're Silverpaw?" She flicks her tail impatiently. "And Lionclaw is your mentor. For StarClan's sake sister, did you hit your head on something?" With a cruel purr hidden behind a happy smile, she flicks her sister's ear with her tail and pulls away, bounding towards Amberpaw and Thistlepaw, a flirty smile on her face.

"Why do you let her do this to you?" A soft voice says from behind her, and then she sees a golden tom looking up at her with round amber eyes. His darker stripes ripple as he twists his body to face her, red ears twitching.

"Who?" Goldenpaw frowns at Sunkit.

"Silverpaw." He says quietly.

Goldenpaw gapes at him; he had noticed? "What do you mean, I'm Silverpaw." She states, unsure of why she was suddenly defending her sister. It was probably instinct, she assumed.

"Don't lie to me," He says, staring at her with unblinking eyes. "Goldenpaw."

She squirms uneasily. "I have to go to sleep." She says evasively.

"I won't tell anyone!" He calls after her. "It'll be our secret!"

She brushes past him and darts into the apprentice's den, her heart pounding.

Confused questions ran through her head.

_Why did I protect my sister, instead of telling Sunkit the truth and exposing her? What made me want to protect her?_


	4. 4

Silverpaw grinned at her fake mentor, and copied her movement. Dawnflight had dropped into a hunting crouch, and Silverpaw did the same. Dawnflight was focusing on the mouse before her, and Silverpaw was copying her movements. But she didn't understand why her sister's mentor was taking so long. She kept her tail still, her paws light on the ground, ears twitching, restlessly and slightly impatient she began to swish her tail, rustling the leaves. The mouse pricked its ears before darting away, squeaking.

"Honestly, Goldenpaw!" Dawnflight snapped, looking annoyed at her apprentice, pale brown stripes rippling as she turned around. "I've told you so many times to stop rustling your tail and just stay still!"

Silverpaw snapped back, nostrils flaring with anger. "How about next time, you just catch the mouse before I get restless and start to twitch around? You can't honestly expect me to stay still forever, can you?" She meowed incredulously, voice dark with annoyance.

"I'm your mentor!" Dawnflight growled coldly. "Listen to me."

_You're not my mentor. _Silverpaw bit back the words, before scowling fiercely down at the ground. "Whatever." Is all the pale silver she-cat muttered to her mentor, ears twitching before she shifted away from her mentor's side and sat down a fox-length away.

"Go hunt by yourself." The pale furred deputy snapped at her. "I don't want to bother to teach you until you fix that attitude of yours. I used to think you were the better twin; but I'm having my doubts."

Silverpaw faked a frown, but as she turned away a faint smirk tugged at the edges of her lips. She padded swiftly away from her mentor, tail swishing back and forth, rustling as much grass as she could. She could hear a frustrated growl of Dawnflight behind her, but just padded away, smirking. "Oh, Goldenpaw." She purred to herself. "Destroying your reputation is _so _fun."

Even worse; the golden-eyed twin felt no remorse to her sister.

She stalked through the forest, sniffing at the air and tasting to see if she could detect where ShadowClan's border was. It had been a half-moon since she and her sister had swapped, and she was planning on switching back with her sister tonight.

"All a game." She laughed, her pretty smile back on her face. "Someday she'll put the pieces together."

She tasted the scent of ShadowClan before darting forward, eyes glowing. She sniffed at the border, realizing that's where it was. Pinching her lips into a thin line, she tentatively stepped forward and across the border. She padded forward lightly, startled by how easy it was to just pad into an enemy clan's territory. She tasted around for the scent of prey, ready to wrap this level of the game up.

The scent of toad flooded her nostrils. She resisted the urge to cringe, but she knew it was perfect. There were no toads in ThunderClan, so once somebody spotted it, they were bound to be suspicious. She grinned. She narrowed her eyes, sweeping her eyes over the territory. She didn't bother to conceal herself. Getting caught would be fine too. She spotted the toad and dropped into a low crouch, her paws light and body completely still.

She slid forward slowly, when she was close enough she waggled her haunches and sprang forward. She landed neatly on the frog and nipped at it, wincing at the taste. A blur of dark fur shot by her vision and then her face was stinging as she slammed back down to the ground. She lifted a paw and pressed it against her face, letting out a low growl of pain.

"What in the name of StarClan?" An astonished voice cut through her thoughts. "ThunderClan?" Then Silverpaw felt herself get shoved down heavily against the ground, and something was pressing down at her neck.

"Get off me." She snapped, her voice a sharp hiss of annoyance. She however, made no attempt to thrash or flail.

"What?" It hissed incredulously. Silverpaw's eyes focused and she noticed who was standing above her. It was a dark silver and black furred tabby she-cat with narrowed amber eyes.

Silverpaw blinked slowly, scowling for a moment. She had hoped it would be a tom. Forbidden romance? That was exciting. "You're a she-cat." She commented.

"So?" The other cat snarled, shoving her down harder. She choked for a moment, writhing around as she tried to gasp for air.

"Defensive, are we?" Silverpaw managed out, before gasping for air again. "Seriously, how are you so heavy?"

The ShadowClan cat glowered down at her, before beginning to unsheathe her claws slowly. "What's your name, and why are you on my territory?"

"The name's…" Silverpaw blinked once, frowning. This cat could be a valuable asset, if twisted around, but if she didn't… than she could be an enemy Silverpaw didn't want to have. "Goldenpaw." She said calmly. "I'm on your territory because I got lost and decided your territory looked like my camp." Her voice dripped with sarcasm.

"You better thank StarClan that I'm nice enough to let you go, _Goldenpaw_." The other cat growled, before releasing her paw from Silverpaw's throat and stepping back. The silver furred she-cat shook out her pelt and sniffed haughtily before padding over to the ThunderClan side of the border. The ShadowClan followed her, but stayed on her own side.

"I'm not thanking anyone." She sniffed. "And besides, StarClan has nothing to do with you letting me go." The ShadowClan cat let out a hiss. Silverpaw rolled her eyes and tapped her paw, as if waiting for something. "Your name…?"

"Why would I tell you my name?" The other she-cat growled.

"Because I told you mine?" Silverpaw blinked, as if it was obvious.

"That's because you were trespassing!" The other cat snarled.

"How do you know I told you my real name?" Silverpaw shrugged.

The other cat blinked, as if unsure for a moment. "I, uh…" She meowed slowly, gazing at Silverpaw. "Your eyes are golden. Golden eyes are rare, so you would be named after it." Silverpaw noted that this she-cat had logic _and _decent observation skills.

"There are two cats in ThunderClan with golden eyes." Silverpaw meowed coolly. It wasn't a lie.

"I tell you my name, and you'l tell me your real name?" The dark tabby offered.

"Aw." Silverpaw purred, brushing pelts slightly with the other cat. The ShadowClan cat stiffened but didn't move. "Look who's suddenly wanting to make friends." The other cat hissed, but there was a gleam in her eyes. It was hard not to end up interested by one of the mysterious twins.

"Flamestrike." The amber-eyed she-cat stated, ears twitching.

Silverpaw resisted a snicker. Flamestrike? That she-cat had a silver pelt. She decided the parents of the amber-eyed she-cat must have had eye issues and been color blind. "Cool. I'm Silverpaw." She meowed airily. "Goldenpaw's my sister." In a half, almost mocking tone, she added. "The family resemblance is shocking."

"Oh." Flamestrike meowed.

Silverpaw suddenly remembered something. "Almost forgot." She meowed, before darting back over to the ShadowClan side of the border and sniffing around for her toad. She picked it up, it dangling limply from her jaws before darted over to ThunderClan. "Thanks."

"Hey!" Flamestrike yowled after her. "That's a ShadowClan toad!"

"You can hunt over here." Silverpaw meowed breezily, waving her tail around. She smirked at the other she-cat. "That is, if you're brave enough." She then padded away, before twisting her head around and shooting the other she-cat an impish smile. "Nice meeting you, Flamestrike."

Her ribcage was aching and her muscles were exhausted so she decided to head back to camp. She had been gone a surprisingly long time. As soon as she walked in, she noticed her sister's mentor sitting there, eyes blazing.

"What took you so long?" Dawnflight growled, stalking forward.

"It took me a while to find my prey." Silverpaw lied, smiling faintly. "If you were a better mentor, I probably wouldn't have taken so long."

Dawnflight glowered as she glared down at the apprentice. "What are you holding?" She stared in horror and disgust at the toad hanging limply from Silverpaw's jaws.

"A toad." She stated, faking the pride in her voice.

"W-where did you get it from?" Dawnflight meowed, her voice suddenly filled with anger.

"It was near the border, but a bit more on the ShadowClan side, but it was so easy to catch I just leapt and caught it. It's hardly a ShadowClan toad." Silverpaw meowed carelessly, before taking a step away from her mentor. Dawnflight snarled at her and hooked her back.

"Hardly a ShadowClan toad?" She yowled. "That's still ShadowClan's prey!"

"I know." Silverpaw meowed, shrugging. "Nobody caught me though, so it was fine." The lie slipped off her tongue, sounding so easy and honest that she almost fooled herself. But she didn't.

"Three sunrises confined in camp." Dawnflight snarled. "Now I have to go talk to Thornstar." With an angry huff, the she-cat snatched up the toad and bounded towards Highledge.

Silverpaw purred in satisfaction before plopping down in the apprentice's den. Her sister stirred slightly in her nest, blinking sleepily up at her.

"Hi." She meowed, almost hesitantly.

"Hey, sis." Silverpaw purred sweetly. "We still on for our trade tonight?"

Goldenpaw flinched as if afraid. "I guess…"

A cold smile spread across Silverpaw's face, golden eyes glittering like chips of ice. She purred her last word in a way that it was so sweet it was venomous.

"Wonderful."


	5. 5

_Long time since I had last updated... lol. :D_

...

It was midnight. The sky was a dark color, a unique ombre of dark blue to purple to black. The moon hung in the sky- alone. A shadow covered over it, the clouds a stormy gray-color. There were no stars tonight. No celestial sheen. There was going to be a storm coming.

A pale silver she-cat contemplated whether or not to go or not, sitting just outside the dirt-place tunnel. Finally deciding her sister would hate her even more if she didn't, she pulled herself to her paws. Flattening her ears against her head, she padded forward quietly.

The forest was silent- without the chirp of happy birds and crickets or the croaking of toads of any sort. There was the rustling noise of an icy wind and it buffeted against her fur, making her shiver.

She kept going, planting one paw firmly before the other. Knowing it was going to rain soon, maybe even storm hard, she began to run. Her pace increased and she dashed forward, swerving to avoid trees- the forest a green, brown, and dark blur before her eyes.

Finally, she burst into the mossy clearing, her heart pounding against her chest.

It was empty.

"Silverpaw?" She called, anyway. Her sister always had a dramatic flair, and most likely would enter in some unique, dramatic way. The small golden-eyed she-cat padded warily into the clearing, tail low against the ground. "Silverpaw?"

There she was.

Under the moonlight, she looked stunning. Her beautiful silver fur was neat, and sleek as it glowed softly. Her dark stripes stood out, rippling every time she took a step forward. The unique, trademark smoky stripe running along her spine twisted as well. Her pale golden eyes were bright and round.

There was no emotion in her face- no emotion in her once loving eyes. She looked cold and distant, as if she was thinking of something else- but they needed to have this trade. Goldenpaw felt fear stir in her belly as she looked at the blank, far-away eyes of her sister.

"Silverpaw?" She meowed warily.

Her sister's identical golden eyes flashed as she stared at her sister. "What?" She snapped, sounding irritable. Clearly- she looked as if she was wishing to be somewhere else throughout the night. Goldenpaw didn't know where.

"How are we going to do the trade?" Goldenpaw inquired. "I'm just going to start spending time with Dawnflight, and you with Lionclaw?" Tilting her head to her side, her golden eyes blinked curiously at her sister.

The silver she-cat laughed, touching her nose to her sister's cheek. She didn't say anything. Her laugh was brittle and cold, as were her beautiful golden gaze.

Affection for her sister rose in Goldenpaw's chest, but she pushed it away. Her sister _despised _her. Why couldn't Goldenpaw hate Silverpaw back?

"We can switch around anytime, you know." Silverpaw purred, tail flicking. "This could be fun."

"Fun…?" Goldenpaw meowed, feeling slightly dizzy. Her sister hadn't talked about much 'fun' since they were young kits- before that night. She had the dreadful feeling her sister was going to manipulate her, but Goldenpaw couldn't resist the tiny, tiny possibility that Silverpaw was doing this because she wanted to befriend her sister again. "Switch around… when?"

The silver she-cat shrugged. "I like battle practice. Dawnflight has taught me how to hunt, already, and it's fine." Silverpaw explained, tail twitching from side to side. "If Dawnflight takes you out for battle practice, we can switch. Or if Lionclaw takes me out hunting, and Dawnflight takes you out on a patrol, we can switch. Or if your doing nothing, and I'm going to do a patrol, we can switch." She smiled, teeth gleaming.

Goldenpaw admitted that she did prefer hunting to fighting. But it felt wrong. "I… I don't know, Silverpaw." She meowed quietly, pinning her ears against her head. "This feels wrong. We would be tricking the whole clan."

Her sister's golden eyes glowed with anger. "Don't be such a coward!" She spat at her sister. "It's not like it's breaking the warrior code or anything! Let's just do it!" Her sister's voice had relaxed, and Silverpaw had calmed down slightly. "It'll be fun. Come on. Just like old times?"

Silverpaw sat down close to Goldenpaw.

Goldenpaw felt as if she couldn't breathe, her chest hurting. She loved how close she was sitting with her sister- a wave of memories washing over her. But it didn't feel right. She felt so… used.

She was the only one who could see through Silverpaw's manipulative ways. Maybe that was a good thing. Maybe it was a bad thing. She couldn't tell anymore.

Then her sister touched her tail to Goldenpaw's tail tip. A strangled noise arose in Goldenpaw's throat, and everything just didn't feel right. Tearing away from her sister's side, she shook her head.

"No. I don't want to trick the clan." Goldenpaw meowed, as confidently as she could. She was relieved when her tail didn't tremble.

Silverpaw's eyes glowed angrily, and she lunged at her sister. Being more trained, muscular, and skillful than her sister, who was confined in camp, she swiftly pinned Goldenpaw down. Her claws were unsheathed, digging into Goldenpaw's throat.

The silver she-cat's eyes were wide as she choked beneath her sister. "Do it." She whispered to her sister. "I dare you." A glint came into Goldenpaw's eyes. She knew her sister well. Her sister would never be the one to murder her.

Silverpaw spat at her sister before releasing her from her grip, pulling away and sheathing her claws.

"I may not be able to kill you- but I have a new friend who could." Silverpaw hissed, eyes narrowed with hatred. "I know all your secrets, Goldenpaw. The secrets you can't even bear to think about. I know everything we did. If you don't do this- I'll ruin your reputation."

"If you ruin mine, you'll ruin yours as well." Goldenpaw replied, raising her head to lock gazes with her sister.

The silver she-cat laughed, staring at Goldenpaw as if she were pathetic.

"I think it's cute you think that." She purred silkily as she brushed past her sister, and headed towards the ShadowClan border.

Feeling out of sorts, Goldenpaw padded back to camp, feeling miserable. Her sister had won once more. Now she was forced to do her sister's bidding- forced to lie to her clan. She forgot how cold she was, how icy the breeze was. Nothing compared to the coldness in her sister's voice. In her eyes. Her once warm golden orbs had frozen over.

Goldenpaw felt as if she should hate her sister, but she couldn't.

She just couldn't.

…

"Wake up!"

Somebody shoved Goldenpaw awake. The she-cat muttered something under her breath, and flicked the tuft of her fur up behind her right ear. She blinked open her golden orbs, still feeling exhausted.

"What is it, Thistlepaw?" She groaned, unwilling to get up.

"Dawnflight's taking you out hunting today, with me and Jayheart." He meowed, grinning. "I'll show you how to do some moves, if you'd like." He offered to the pretty young apprentice.

Goldenpaw was too tired to sound enthusiastic. Instead, she offered the older apprentice a half-smile and padded out into the clearing. Silverpaw was already there- and to Goldenpaw's relief the tuft behind her ear was smoothed down.

As they bounded out of the den, Dawnflight narrowed her eyes at her apprentice. "For StarClan's sake, Goldenpaw. I thought you'd look a bit more enthusiastic, since I'd decided to cancel your punishment. Turns out that actually was a ThunderClan frog."

That made Goldenpaw blink in surprise. She almost said 'what punishment', but held her tongue. Obviously her sister had done something stupid and of course, Goldenpaw had gotten placed with the blame. Again.

Silverpaw was sharing prey with Amberpaw and Ripplepaw, shooting her sister a narrowed gaze as she saw Goldenpaw and Thistlepaw standing close together. The pale apprentice obviously wanted all of the clan's toms to herself. However, Goldenpaw was different- she didn't care about the toms. She just wanted to be the best apprentice, and the best warrior she could be, and become friends with her sister again.

"Lets go." Jayheart announced, tail flicking from side to side.

The patrol padded out of the camp's clearing, and Goldenpaw tried to talk to Thistlepaw in the same way her sister would.

As they passed a puddle, she paused to check her reflection. She smiled impishly, and she widened her eyes a little. She fluttered her eyelids, batting her eyelashes.

She looked _exactly _like her sister.

Maybe Goldenpaw wouldn't lose everything, after all. All she had to do was perfect what her sister was like.

"Hey, Goldenpaw, yesterday I heard you snuck into ShadowClan territory." Thistlepaw whispered in a low voice, amber eyes round. "Is that true?"

"Nope." Goldenpaw meowed airily, easily dismissing the idea. "I just stopped to talk to some ShadowClan tom. He thought I was pretty and refused to leave me alone." She tried to sound as stuck-up as possible. She knew she couldn't talk as well as her sister, but she hoped this was good enough.

Thistlepaw looked concerned. "Did he, in the end?" He meowed worriedly.

The pretty she-cat laughed lightly. "Of course, silly!" She teased, gently flicking his ear with her tail.

"Thats a relief." Thistlepaw smiled at her, brushing up against her.

Goldenpaw's eyes glinted as an idea came to her head. She would be her sister- but better. The whole clan's toms would come running to her, and after that happened… her sister would be left with nobody.

Nobody, except Goldenpaw.

Then her sister would come running back, and they would become close again.

...

_This chapter actually shows how kinda crazy both she-cats are. Silverpaw is blackmailing her own kin- and Goldenpaw is obsessed with her sister. :D _


End file.
